Back To The Past
by LisayaTomago
Summary: When all is lost, Uzumaki Naruto finds his solution in the past. As any good historian knows, get rid of the long-term cause, get rid of the problem. With some help from an unexpected source, Naruto relives his life with a twist. Time Travel Fic.
1. Chapter 1: Begin Again

**Yo! New story here. This one's been sitting around and I just wanted to post it because otherwise, it would really be a waste. Don't expect regular updates or even regular chapter lengths; they'll fluctuate with my mood. I'll most likely update this cywscross-style (search for that author if you don't know him/her - he/she's awesome). That and I don't have a good plan for this so when I feel it can't go any further, I'll probably put it up for adoption. Probably.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach. They belong to Masashi Kimimoto and Tite Kubo respectively.**

**Enjoy!**

**Edited: [25-12-14] Changed conversation with Hiruzen. Minor grammatical errors corrected.**

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><p>Cerulean blue eyes snapped open and Uzumaki Naruto jerked out of bed. His chest heaved as he panted, flashes of blood, fire and bone flying through his mind's eye. It almost seemed like a nightmare – if it weren't for the fact that it had actually happened.<p>

He felt around his body, trying to make sure there weren't any gaping holes or any blood, though Kurama would have quickly healed them.

Kurama!

**"****Still here, brat," **a voice echoed inside his head.

"Kurama," he breathed with a sigh of relief.

**"****Now shut up," **came the immediate admonishment. **"Trying to sleep. What you did took a lot out of me." **Naruto felt a slight smile tug at his lips.

So it had worked.

'Thanks fur ball,' Naruto replied mentally. It was greeted with a snort before a loud rumbling snore trembled across his mindscape.

His eyes raked across his dark room, taking comfort in the empty ramen cups, crumpled clothes and other miscellaneous items littered around the room. It had been a long year since he had last seen these four walls. Since Konoha had burned down around him.

Glancing out of the window, Naruto took in the navy sky twinkling with burning balls of helium and fell back down into bed, all the muscles in his body losing their tension for the first time in what seemed like forever. Months of camping, staying on guard and fighting for survival had taken its toll on the 19-year-old.

_Or 12-year-old now_, he mused. Naruto stared at the bare ceiling, knowing it would be next to impossible to get to sleep, not when he knew what would happen in the future. The root of it all was here, in this stretch of time. The Chuunin exams, the invasion, the death of the Sandaime… this was when it had all begun.

_When was it anyway?_ Naruto jumped out of bed and immediately stopped by his bedside table. It was empty save for a ticking clock. No picture… he wasn't in Team 7 yet; he must still be in the Academy. Had he passed the graduation exam? No, no hitai-ate either. Unfortunately, he couldn't get an exact date yet. Naruto's monthly provisions had been barely enough to get him through the month, though they should have been, if not for the premium prices he had to pay. He felt the corners of his mouth tug down into a frown. It had made him forget about even considering buying wanted objects; he would be lucky to get the necessities.

He flopped back into bed, the springs under the thin mattress bouncing up and down before finally adjusting to his weight. It was probably best that he had overshot that time-travel jutsu. He'd rather not arrive too late for the exams. Speaking of the time-travel jutsu, Naruto wondered about his orange-haired companion. The teen had become an unlikely friend after he had been rescued from Kabuto's clutches at the start of the war.

_"__I just ended up there yesterday. You saved me just in time; that snake creep was about to start experimenting on me today," he had said._

Nevertheless, he had joined up with the war effort, and had been one of the few remaining survivors. Although dressed curiously in a black hakama and a sword across his back, he had been quickly accepted among Naruto's peers. Well, Kakashi had wanted to order ANBU surveillance and a Yamanaka to double check his loyalties, but he had been dissuaded. Not easily, mind you.

The stranger had later become a close friend, as close as Sasuke or Sakura had been… at least until they died. He had helped Naruto send them both back into the past.

_Where is he now?_ _He did say he wasn't originally from this dimension…_

Naruto finally shoved all thoughts out of his head. If the graduation exam turned out to be tomorrow and he hadn't slept at all… well, he'd probably still pass. But that was just it. He couldn't pass. He had to reveal Mizuki and be dead last. As much as he hated it, he would have to be called _Dobe_ later on by the 'last' Uchiha. Yeah, you're definitely the last of your clan when you have a brother running around, spying on enemy ninja.

A weight was resting on his eyelids, dragging them down across his eyes. Just before they shut completely, a thought ran through his head.

_I won't let you down… everyone._

—ナルト—ブリーチ—

A flicker of a golden ray of sunshine streaked across Naruto's face, causing his eyes to twitch. Groaning, he sat up blearily and rubbed his eyes. Where was he anyway? As his vision focused, he almost let out a yelp of joy unbecoming of his 19 years of life. The thoughts of last night raced through his head with the same speed as when he leapt out of bed and threw himself into his morning routine.

Naruto zoomed through his bath, having learnt the importance of having showers in his later years, and brushed his teeth with an almost bone-breaking vigor.

Inspecting his reflection in the mirror, he almost grimaced at how scrawny he was. While it was mostly due to the almost exclusive diet of ramen, the fact that fresh vegetables were hard to get ahold of also played a large factor. His hair was back to being short; it had grown longer, resembling his late father, during the war when he had neglected to trim it. But honestly, the recession in growth didn't really matter to him. He could save everyone! No one would have to die! But…

Even if he did save everyone, they wouldn't have the same relationships… would they? Sasuke couldn't be allowed to leave and that would change his whole personality, even some of the jutsu he could use. Sakura and the rest of the Konoha 11 wouldn't throw themselves into training with the same resolve as before. Heck, there wouldn't even _be _a Konoha 11. If all turned out well, there would be a Konoha _12._

Throwing on his orange jumpsuit, Naruto glanced out of the glass window. It was still early, 5 a.m. by the sun. The Academy wouldn't start until 8. With a shrug he headed to the kitchen and hastily made a cup of instant ramen, gulping it down as soon as the required three minutes were up, nearly scalding his throat. Naruto could train instead. If he remembered correctly, Gai-sensei and Lee were up training at this time.

_Not that I would train with them_, he thought with a shiver.

He slipped into his shoes and headed out, nimbly hopping from rooftop to rooftop. He grinned brightly at the houses, a sun that would rouse the sleeping village. Even if it took all his might, even if it took all his strength, even if it took his _life_, Naruto would protect Konoha. It was _his _village, for goodness' sake. It didn't matter if the everyday civilians glared at him and stabbed him with their hurtful mutterings, there were still his _precious_ people here, even if said people didn't know it yet.

With one last large bound, he reached the green wall that surrounded and protected Konoha. Flashing a cheery smile at the surprised Kotetsu and Izumo, he started to run two laps around the wall. The guards were probably shocked that he was here to train this early.

Naruto set a steady pace, his feet hitting the dirt path at regular intervals, kicking up plumes of billowing dust. Two laps were probably pushing it. The course took at least half an hour for Gai-sensei and three quarters of one for a normal adult. He wasn't even a teenager now and his body didn't have much muscle mass, a problem he'd have to correct immediately.

Stumbling slightly, having miscalculated the distance, he recovered just as quickly before continuing on the trail. In his mind, Naruto began to plan a training schedule designed to have his muscles regain their muscle memory and try out all his jutsu in this form as he absentmindedly kept his feet moving.

'Hey furball,' Naruto called out mentally. 'Do you think you could help me grow or something?'

He could hear a bored yawn before Kurama replied, **"I doubt you'd want to look like an overgrown freak."**

'Eh… True. I guess I'll just have to focus on ninjutsu instead of taijutsu,' he conceded.

**"****Don't focus too much, brat. You don't want to have to explain how you know the Rasengan or even completed it, and you definitely don't want to explain how you can use my chakra." **

"Wait… So I'm basically left with 4 ninjutsu?!" Naruto exclaimed, forgetting for a moment to keep it mental.

**"****Shut it. You sound like an insane person. Just keep it at four until you graduate, then say you started taking it seriously or something of the like. The white-haired pervert should accept that reason." **

'… Are you talking about Kakashi-sensei or Ero-sennin?' he inquired.

**"****In this case, the Hatake," **Kurama clarified.

'…Kurama, Kakashi-sensei's hair is silver not white.'

**"****It's white, brat. I know white when I see it, and the shade of his hair is the same as Tobirama's."**

'It's silver, fur ball. And who in the Elemental Countries is Tobirama?'

**"****How do you plan on being Hokage when you don't know who the Hokages were? It's white, brat."**

'Silver,' Naruto refuted with a passion. 'And I already did plan on becoming the first genin Hokage. What's the difference if I don't know the previous Kages' names?'

**"****Whatever brat. White."**

'Silver.'

**"****White."**

'Silver.'

"**WHITE!"**

'SILVER!'

**"****STUPID BRAT! HOW CAN HATAKE HAVE SILVER HAIR WHEN HIS FATHER WAS CALLED THE WHITE FANG?!"**

'… Ok. Point taken.'

The rest of the run was done in silence after an incredulous snort on the behalf of a certain orange-haired fox. After an hour and a half, his muscles were straining and crying out in relief at the sight of the tall green gates. Yes, this was a serious problem. It was probably a bit of a combination of the fact that he was a child, and the malnourishment he had received at this time.

He waved at the guards again, before stretching a bit and dropping onto the ground, his back resting against the side of the large gates. Leaning his head back and shutting his eyes, he relished the warmth of the rising sun, only to jerk back up at the cry of Kotetsu's "Halt!"

Eyes snapped open to take in a familiar form with orange-hair. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips, and he made to stand up.

"Who are you?" Izumo demanded.

A shinigami with orange hair as spiky as Naruto's own lifted his head, his ever-present scowl deepening.

"Kurosaki Ichigo. I have an important message to tell the Hokage."

—ナルト—ブリーチ—

After a few minutes of haggling and explaining to the guards, Ichigo finally managed to get them to allow him to see the Hokage. When they argued over whether or not to get an ANBU or another ninja to escort him as they were guarding the gate, a certain well-known Number One Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja volunteered.

"Naruto?" Kotetsu asked. "But you're not even a genin."

"Don't worry, Kotetsu-sensei. You're talking to the future Hokage! There's no way a random hair-bleaching stranger can beat me!" Naruto proclaimed. Ichigo felt an eyebrow twitch at the hair-bleaching comment and had to squish down the urge to knock him out to make a point. The blonde seemed to be straining to keep up his idiotic old self.

The two guards slowly nodded after some hesitation and allowed them through with a word of warning to exercise caution to Naruto. The son of the Yondaime Hokage waved off their concern and proceeded to lead, or accompany Ichigo to the Hokage's tower.

"So," Naruto started, as they walked at a brisk pace. "When did you get here?"

"Just last night," Ichigo replied, recalling how he had nearly mistaken the woods he had ended up in as the exact same one he had been in before. "I ended up in the forests nearby. Nearly broke my back when I fell on top of a tree."

He heard a snicker from Naruto and barely resisted from cracking a smile at the blonde's infectious laughter.

"You know you wouldn't have been hurt quite that much." Ichigo shrugged.

"I guess."

They paced in silence for a few moments as Ichigo observed the various merchants setting up shop. He never did get to see much of the village, having only been found a year before it was burned down to the ground. A year filled with long hours of fighting for survival. In his mind's eye, it wasn't a stretch to see the burning buildings surrounding him.

"Any clues why I look the same as before and you're a tiny midget?" He asked.

"HEY! I am not a tiny midget!" Naruto objected loudly, drawing glares. Ichigo snickered.

"I'm sorry, I meant tinier midget, because you already were a tiny midget then," Ichigo quipped. Indeed, he had been a great deal taller than Naruto, even though they were the same age. He could see Naruto visibly let his temper go as the blonde rolled his eyes. A cackle rang through his head.

_**:Good one, King:**_

"Yeah, yeah. Done with 20 ways to poke fun at Naruto already?" he snapped. Ichigo repressed a chuckle. Their relationship was almost like that of brothers, though obviously not of blood, their meeting pure chance and coincidence thanks to a certain stupid Urahara and his stupid similar-looking inventions.

It was a 2 years after the Quincy War, and he'd been meaning to go to Soul Society, as he did every fortnight, and Urahara had set up the portal. However, he later concluded that there had been a mix up between the actual portal and a portal to a Whole. Different. _Dimension._

He had appeared in a creepy snake guy's laboratory, a person he had later discovered to be named Kabuto and had been about to be experimented on by the creep when Naruto and co. had busted him out of there. Ichigo had later found out that he was in a different dimension (one he had decided to dub Naruto-verse), with no possible way to get back and, after grieving the fact that he'd never see his siblings, friends or family again, immersed himself into this new dimension, as the official name would later call: the Elemental Countries. At least he had his Zanpakuto.

_**:Oi! King!:**_

And his Hollow, of course.

Apparently, there was some kind of war, and having gone through two, he could tell the bad guys from the good guys. Or at least the good-_er _guys from the bad-_er _(because the world knows that _nothing_ black or white [except for shinigami and Hollows]). Ichigo had made new friends, made some enemies and had become all-but-blood brothers with a certain ninja by the name of Uzumaki Naruto.

And then, things had gone in a downward spiral and after two years of war, Ichigo had watched his friends fall and barely made it out in the end. Desperate times lead to desperate measures, and apparently learning how to mold chakra wasn't a desperate enough measure.

The death of the rest of their faction was the last straw. The war had wiped out all shinobi, with the exception of Naruto and, using the term 'shinobi' _very _loosely, Ichigo as well. They had succeeded in creating a time-travel jutsu, though seal would be more precise. Made meticulously with Naruto's newfound sealing prowess, they had activated it and sent themselves back in time.

Cross-dimensional travelling was mind blowing enough, but now _time?_ Ichigo might be adequately clever, but he wasn't quite clever enough to comprehend that, even though he had helped out with making the seal.

Zangetsu had speculated that the reason his body was still the same was because he technically 'did not exist' in this dimension. A new body or persona had to be created for him and as this universe did not know his past, they had made it equal to his future.

Now, the two (or the five, depending on how one thought of it) were back in the past and a somber mood fell upon them as the Hokage's mansion loomed in sight. The familiar red and gold walls rose up in front of them, eliciting a nostalgic sigh from the blonde beside him.

"What do we tell him?" Naruto finally said. Ichigo arched an eyebrow.

"Weren't you the provisionary Rokudaime Hokage-slash-leader of the Allied Shinobi Forces when all the Kage were practically gone?" Ichigo asked. Naruto promptly gave him a look that clearly conveyed _I-know-what-I-think-we-should-do-but-I-want-a-second-opinion._ With a sigh, he replied, "We need to tell the Hokage. We won't be able to do much without his consent."

Naruto gave a nod that declared his approval, an extremely weird thing considering that the Rokudaime Hokage was now a twelve-year-old.

_Yes, definitely weird_, Ichigo thought. He speculated that he had heard Zangetsu and his Hollow hum and grunt in agreement.

The duo trod up the stairs and reached the Hokage's door. The two ANBU who stood guarding the door immediately cried out, "Halt! State your name and purpose."

Ichigo gave a short nod. "Kurosaki Ichigo. I have an important message for the Hokage." He watched the two guards share a look and turned back to him.

"The Hokage is not expecting you. He does not have any appointments this early." Ichigo leaned closer, almost menacing.

"This _message_ is urgent and may affect whether the village will _live,_" he stated firmly. The guards shared another look before one poked his head into the room for a few moments. The guard held the door open.

"Hokage-sama will see you now." Ichigo walked through the door and could hear Naruto making to follow, only to be blocked. He turned around saying, "Uzumaki Naruto is imperative to the message." The guards hesitated before allowing him through. The door closed softly.

_What on Earth is going on that the jinchuuriki of the Hidden Leaf is involved?_

ナルト—ブリーチ

When Hiruzen saw his guard announce that a messenger with an urgent message had come, he was understandably surprised. Nevertheless, he accepted the meeting and observed an orange-haired in his late teens step through the doorway. Upon the sighting of the huge sword – the Land of Iron? – he discretely signaled the ANBU hanging in the corners of the room to be on guard. Imagine his surprise when the son of his fallen colleague, having been directly told to come, followed the young adult.

The two reached the middle of the room, and the strangely dressed orange-haired teen gave a low bow.

"Hokage-san, my name is Kurosaki Ichigo and we come bearing news of the future," he started. Hiruzen started when he heard the suffix added to his name. Most unknown dignitaries used –sama, as was required by decorum. However, this part was easily disregarded when compared to the other half of the sentence. _The_ _future?_

"The future?" he asked, echoing his thoughts. He leaned forward, resting his creaking joints on the wooden table. "Please elaborate."

Ichigo cast glances to the four corners of the room before sending a pointed look to the Hokage.

So he knew what kind of defenses the Hokage had in place. Although it was a colossal security risk, something about this teen and the fact that he was apparently a friend to Naruto made Hiruzen want to trust him. With another hand gesture, the four ANBU stationed in the corners of the room were dismissed, leaving him with the two youngsters.

"Naruto and I have come from the future back here to save all the shinobi of the Elemental Countries. The Fourth Great Shinobi War wiped out almost all of us," Ichigo said, his and Naruto's face growing steadily darker.

"You do realise that you both sound mentally insane, and for all I know, this could be an assassination attempt," Hiruzen pointed out. To his surprise, the orange-haired teen merely shrugged.

"It's understandable, but I figured you would trust Naruto here."

"And the Naruto in front of me could be an imposter with an undetectable transformation technique," Hiruzen deflected. To this, Naruto's eyebrow suddenly began twitching.

"Old man, I don't think that an enemy ninja would be the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and know who my parents are," Naruto replied. Ah. That would definitely prove it. If he knew… well, the very thought made him somewhat guilty. As the Third Hokage, Hiruzen may have gotten away by saying his job was highly attention demanding and time-consuming, but it would not have lessened the burden that threatened to on crush his heart. He had heard, if not witnessed, of the villagers actions of spite and ridicule, and those tales are what made him set up the ANBU guard that later shadowed the young blonde's every move. Hiruzen had the chance to make Naruto's life better, and had let it slip through his fingers; how he would face Minato, he didn't know.

"So you know?" he asked hesitantly. Naruto nodded.

"Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, dattebayo!" Naruto proclaimed with a cheery smile as he pumped a fist into the air. Hiruzen allowed a small smile to grace his lips. Just like Kushina, he was.

"I think that should be enough proof. Hokage-san?" Ichigo looked to Hiruzen for confirmation. Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. For all he knew, Naruto could've have been 'hijacked' and defected to another village. With a shake of his head, he quickly discarded the idea; the ANBU surveillance constantly observing Naruto had reported nothing out of place, but he still required more proof.

"I still require hard proof," Hiruzen pressed. The Uzumaki in front of him seemed to contemplate the slight conundrum for a moment, ignoring both the Hokage as well as Ichigo's eyes boring into him.

"Here we go. Rasengan," Naruto intoned, a spinning blue orb of chakra coming to life in his palms.

On the outside, Hiruzen calmly leaned back in his chair though inwardly he was panicking. With the Rasengan… only Jiraiya and perhaps Kakashi knew it, and no enemy forces had not overcome both of them. And with that, came the confirmation: Naruto and this Ichigo were telling the truth. The implications that came with the truth were ones that he'd rather not consider, though Hiruzen knew he would have to. Although he sincerely wanted to discuss Naruto's heritage with him, it would have to be a conversation saved for later.

With a long-suffering sigh, Hiruzen nodded. This was too much work to be done in the morning. "So you've come back in time to change the future. I don't know what to say," the Third Hokage honestly confessed.

"Don't worry, old man. We'll take care of it. But…" Naruto shared a look with Ichigo. "Is there something you could do for us?" Hiruzen leaned forward.

"What is it?" he questioned.

"We don't suppose you could arrange for the assassination of one Shimura Danzo, could you?" Ichigo asked haltingly. Immediately, Hiruzen's gaze became sharp.

"As much I do not like the man, you are talking about a man who, admittedly does not have Konoha's best intentions at heart no matter what he believes, is often crucial to Konoha's survival. He controls a large proportion of our forces from the shadows. It is not wise to dispose of him," Hiruzen explained.

"Does that mean no?" Naruto asked, his eyebrows screwed up in bewilderment, with a similarly confused Ichigo next to him. Hiruzen discretely rolled his eyes. Birds of a feather. It seemed the years had not sharpened the Uzumaki's mind.

"It's not necessarily a no, but merely that it is unwise," Hiruzen said, rephrasing his previous explanation. "That, and your perception of the future is more than likely to be biased."

The taller teen looked down at the pre-teen. Odd. It seemed that Ichigo deferred to Naruto for some sort of reason. The Uzumaki fingered his chin for a few moments, his eyebrows locked in concentration.

"On the contrary, getting rid of Danzo would not negatively affect anything. He did not mobilize his forces during the invasion of the Chuunin exams, nor did anything he do affect anything at all really, or not until three or four years time… but those were only negative effects," Naruto reasoned. It was slightly disturbing to hear such a close analysis from who was widely known as a poor academic student.

The invasion of the Chuunin exams? What was that all about? Swallowing his questions for now, as he would have a hard enough time sorting through the information already given, Hiruzen deliberated for a moment. If Naruto's scrutiny were true, then it wouldn't hurt to dispose of Danzo. It rather saddened him that his old friend would eventually become someone that required the disposing of.

While not a particularly cruel or vindictive person, Hiruzen could see that it would certainly make life, especially his own, easier. However, the loss of life should never be taken lightly…

"Old man," Naruto started, as if reading his thoughts. "I know you have your doubts about whether we should, but perhaps this would help: ROOT is still active and being lead by Danzo." This was certainly troubling news. Hiruzen had thought it had been disbanded after the Fourth's order… but apparently not. He had been too complacent it seemed.

"I'll launch an investigation," Hiruzen finally conceded. The two boys' faces perked up. "If, and only if, any incriminating evidence is found, then we'll take action. However, this will take time, and I am not able to guarantee anything."

Another affirmative nod. Hiruzen's eyes flickered to the clock ticking on his desk. "Naruto, I do believe the Academy is starting soon." Naruto's eyes widened and the blonde took a glance at the clock.

"Oh, man! I need to go!" Naruto all but yelled. Ichigo snickered.

"I think you make the first Hokage who has ever needed to go to the Academy _after _they got the hat," Ichigo quipped, earning a hard glare from Naruto. Hokage?

"Shut up. I thought we were done with 20 ways to tease Naruto!" Naruto retorted.

"Hokage?" Hiruzen asked, causing Naruto to scratch the back of his head, flushing faintly in embarrassment.

"Not really officially. The official title was provisionary Rokudaime Hokage, but it didn't really mean anything," Naruto explained, though his blue eyes, so like his father's, grew darker at the last few words.

"Gotta go!" Naruto perked up again and dashed out of the door. "See ya later Ichigo, ji-ji!" The door slammed behind him, though it was quickly opened again.

4 ANBU peeked their heads in and asked, "Do we come back in, Hokage-sama?" Hiruzen looked to Ichigo with a question, who shrugged in return.

"Nothing too sensitive," he replied. _Best to be on the safe side, _Hiruzen thought.

"Give me five more minutes, maybe longer." The door shut softly again, and Hiruzen turned to Ichigo.

"So, who are you exactly? I've never seen you around before. The Land of Iron, perhaps?" Ichigo grumbled and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, 'why is it always the land of Iron'.

With a sigh, he replied, "No. Actually I'm not from the Elemental Countries at all." And then, the orange-haired teen launched into his own story, and Hiruzen learnt all about his journey in cross-dimensional travel. At the very start, when he mentioned 'shinigami', Hiruzen started.

"Shinigami?" he asked. Did he know what happened to the Yondaime Hokage?

"Yes, though not the same as the ones you have over here. And no, I don't know what happened to the Fourth. I get that a lot from Naruto, and Kakashi and pretty much everyone who knew the man," Ichigo explained. Once he had finished his story (and blown Hiruzen's mind away), Hiruzen finally stated more than asked, "So, I suppose you need a place in the village."

While the story seemed completely out of this world (which it was), he would take it as it was; there were no other sources, and while Ichigo was surely omitting details, something just made him trust the young man.

Ichigo inclined his head. The duo had sent themselves back into the past in this moment in time for a reason. Ichigo would need to help Naruto achieve whatever needs to be changed.  
>"Why did you choose to come back to this moment in time?" Hiruzen queried. Ichigo looked up for a moment, thinking.<p>

"Naruto said something about how that reconnaissance mission near Iwa being the beginning, but Kakashi had… passed by then, so we didn't have anyone who could go back that far…" Ichigo started. A reconnaissance mission near Iwa that involved Kakashi… it had to be that one where Team Minato had lost a member of their team.

"And we didn't know that I could go back to that time," Ichigo went on. "So Naruto decided the Chuunin exams was the next best major turning point but something about some people in the Wave who could help turn it around." Ichigo's amber eyes finally focused back on Hiruzen's own.

"It was on a mission before the Chuunin exams, but we overshot a little and ended up before he was a genin," Ichigo concluded. So, Ichigo would need to be somehow assigned to be able to assist Naruto on a mission with his team.

"What are your abilities?" Ichigo's expression became guarded.

"Why do you need to know that?" he shot back.

"Technically, I need to know the abilities of every ninja in the village, but specifically for this case, it's so I can figure out how to assign you to be able to assist Naruto in the Wave." The tension faded from his shoulders.

"I can mold a bit of chakra, but my repertoire in shinobi skill is kind of… basic. Very basic. I specialize in kenjutsu and can do some kido. My taijutsu… apparently it's really good. I just beat this weird guy with bushy eyebrows in this horrible shade of green and apparently that means I'm good," Ichigo said. He could beat Maito Gai, Konoha's Taijutsu specialist? His Taijutsu would be Jounin standard then.

"What's kido?" Hiruzen asked. He could see palpable pain in the boy's amber eyes.

"It's like ninjutsu back in my… dimension." Hiruzen nodded.

"We could probably set you up as a Chuunin and say you were a wandering swordsman who decided to settle down in Konoha. You would need to go through a few tests. How does tomorrow sound?" Hiruzen suggested.

"It's fine."

"I would set up an ANBU guard, you are an unknown enigma, but with the… delicate information you and Naruto will no doubt be discussing, it's not the best idea." This would mean calling off Naruto's ANBU surveillance rotation as well, though if he was truly at Kage-level, it shouldn't be necessary.

"You also need to fill in some paperwork. This," Hiruzen took some sheets from the table, "is for a residency permit and as for lodgings, there are quite a few apartments vacated around Naruto's due to his being… well, you know." Ichigo nodded.

"Thank you, Hokage-san. I'll hand these into your secretary," Ichigo said, and made to leave.

"Please wait a moment," Hiruzen called out, causing Ichigo to pause and look back. "I would like to inquire into the reason behind your suffix. I assume-"

"That I am loyal to Naruto?" Ichigo finished. "Yes." As Hiruzen opened his mouth, he was cut off Ichigo. "I am still loyal to you, Sandaime, but my first priority is to Naruto, and I will not disobey an order unless it is directly contrary to something Naruto has said. Naruto… he won't contradict one of your orders, not likely anyway. I hope this makes me substantially less of a village threat?"

Hiruzen nodded. "Very well. It is understandable." Honestly, it was slightly scary how well Ichigo was politically versed. If this was Naruto's friend, perhaps he had underestimated the both of them a bit too much. "Additionally, am I to know everything about the future?" Ichigo's eyes flickered to the ceiling as he pondered the question for a moment.

"We'll probably come back some time later... There are some events that you definitely need to be informed of. Others… others might be better left unsaid. Notify us when you have some free time. Have a nice day." With that, Ichigo walked out of the door, and four ANBU came scampering in, resuming their duties.

Hiruzen merely sighed and massaged his temples. It was too early in the morning to deal with this.

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><p><strong>Please leave a review. I appreciate constructive criticism, not things like 'I don't like it' and leaving it at that. Tell me why so that I can improve and make this story better. Thanks!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2: Make New Friends

**Okay, back with another instalment. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I've edited the first chapter to make it better. For some reason, I feel that this chapter is kind of shaky but I don't know what. This chapter just did _not _want to write itself. So that brings me to my next point: looking for a beta-reader here. Please PM me if you can help.**

**Oh yeah, someone asked about pairings and in reply, yes there will be a few pairings, but romance is taking the sideline here. As someone with no love life whatsoever, I can probably accurately write them asking to go on a date but not much else. Hence the side lining. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach; they belong to Masashi Kimimoto and Kubo Tite respectively.**

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><p><p>

**Chapter 2: **Make New Friends (But Keep The Old)

Uzumaki Naruto shuffled out of the Academy, book bag slung over his shoulder, a habit he had picked up from being around Ichigo. The day had been boring, to say the least, what with revision for the upcoming graduation exam. It turned out that the exam would be in a weeks' time exactly, and it was a day spent on revising theories and the few basic ninjutsu.

At first, it had hurt him to see everyone's faces again. His old classmates, who would later be known as the Rookie 9. They were the embodiment of his guilt, the guilt that came with having to send them to their deaths as they gave their lives in the hope that others would live. It did not help that he had witnessed some of their deaths personally.

_Ino_, with half her face melted off thanks to a well-timed Katon jutsu. _Kiba_, practically immobilized after the death of Akamaru, leaving him virtually defenseless against an enemy. _Sakura, _with a kunai drenched in the blood of countless others stabbed haphazardly into her chest. _Hinata-_

**"Naruto, don't go there."**

The Uzumaki shook his head in an attempt to clear all the horrid images that were being dredged up. It didn't do well to dwell on the past. Or future, depending on how one could look at it.

He had practically frozen up, barely being able to respond at all when Choji had thrown out a casual hello. It had resulted in Shikamaru casting him a suspicious look at his strained and stuttering greeting before the young Nara had promptly muttered 'Troublesome' and fell forward, asleep on the hard birch desk. Before long, Naruto felt like doing so too; it was basic revision, the base level that any shinobi needed to know as well as some other impractical knowledge thrown in for good measure.

Not for the first time, he had formed the opinion that the Academy was useless, but this time, it was for the reason that it truly _was _useless, rather than it was useless for him.

Six years spent in an institution learning only three ninjutsu, in-depth history and various other miscellaneous topics was truly a waste of time. A year with a sensei would teach one about a million times more useful methods and techniques. When he became the Hokage –again, hopefully- he'd improve the Academy definitely, Naruto promised internally. Naruto went on to brainstorm multiple ways to improve the education system, and so lost in his thoughts was he, that he barely noticed Hinata's call of goodbye.

"N-Naruto-kun." Naruto's head whipped to the left, to find his future girlfriend with eyes casted onto the ground and forefingers pushing together. The image brought a soft smile to his features.

"Yes, Hinata?"

Naruto could almost see the panic in her eyes before it died down slightly and she attempted a shy smile. "J-Just wanted t-to s-say goodb-bye," Hinata stuttered out.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Hinata-chan!" Hinata turned red at the addition of '-chan'. "Good luck with your revision!" Naruto called out as he walked away with a wave of his hand.

**"Naruto and Hinata sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G."**

Naruto merely shook his head at the fox's immaturity, though he was no one to talk. He had barely reached the gates of the Academy when he found a looming figure above him.

"Yo, Hokage-sama," greeted Ichigo with a mock salute. The blonde Hokage just rolled his eyes and stalked past him, causing the orange teen-almost-adult to follow along. Ichigo had apparently dropped off his sword somewhere and bought a change of clothes, as proven by the casual shirt and jeans he was wearing.

"As far as I know, you've never been one to tease this much in one day," grumbled Naruto as they set off towards Naruto's home in an unspoken agreement.

"Maybe I'm just in a good mood. And I always did like to tease… Never mind," Ichigo said. His face had grown a slight depressed as he had spoken that sentence, causing Naruto to slap himself mentally. No doubt that Ichigo had been thinking of a certain white-haired captain back in his home dimension.

"Sorry," Naruto apologized. The orange-haired daiko gave a slight shake of his head to show that the apology was not needed. "So, what happened?"

"Okay, well," Ichigo started, casting his eyes up to the sky as he recalled the details. "Sandaime Hokage-san is planning to set me up as a Chuunin and will somehow link me to the Wave escort mission. I'll be undertaking several evaluations of skill to determine an exact rank. We're required to see Hokage-san later today to handover information on… stuff." Naruto nodded in approval with a stern expression that was unbecoming on his childish face.

"Good. Anything else?" Ichigo shook his head.

"So… When are we?" Ichigo ventured as they started up the stairs to the fourth floor of the apartment complex where Naruto's apartment was located.

"A week before the graduation exam. The main plan is to keep our status as time-travellers under wraps while we go about making all the changes that are required. By the way, we need to go to Ichiraku Ramen after this."

"And those changes are?" Ichigo asked, choosing to disregard at the last comment. Naruto fished around his pockets for the key before taking it out and proceeding to unlock the door. He'd never really told Ichigo much about his history, especially not of that during this time. However, he assumed that Ichigo had picked up some stuff from his other friends.

"Well, there's- hey, did someone move in?" Naruto halted his step into his apartment, having noticed the irregular dust patterns outside his neighboring door. Now, it was Ichigo's turn to roll his eyes, though unbeknownst to Naruto as Ichigo was behind him.

"Where did you think I was staying, a bench on a street?" Ichigo deadpanned.

**"Your skills of perception amaze me, brat."**

Naruto scowled in a manner not unlike Ichigo's at the double team, not that Ichigo would realise. "Shut it," he commanded to the both before stalking rather huffily into his apartment, with a chuckling Ichigo following behind.

"Anyway," he said, dumping his bag onto a couch. "I need to get into Team 7 again, which means I just need to get the lowest score."

**"Brat, do you really want to allow Mizuki to run wild?"**

"Oh. Right. I mean I need to fail again," Naruto corrected himself, Ichigo nodding along, having taken the internal conversation in stride. He probably had enough of the same kind of thing to consider it normal.

"Then we need to get that mission to the Wave, and we can save Haku and Zabuza. They didn't deserve to end how they did… and they might help later on."

Naruto paused for a moment, contemplating the rest of the plan.

"Then… the Chuunin exams," Naruto went on. "I need to get strong enough to defeat Orochimaru when he comes in the forest. If he doesn't mark Sasuke, then he won't suffer any of the corrupting psychological side effects of the seal… And then the Ji-ji won't die. We just need to stop the invasion and we'll have a better chance of facing the Akatsuki later."

"Naruto, you forgot that the Sand helped with the invasion. And you might not find Karin again," Ichigo pointed out, wincing slightly when he mentioned the name 'Karin'. The wince probably was because they hadn't gotten along well or because it was the name of his younger sister, Naruto pondered. More likely, it was both.

Ichigo had brought up a valid point. Karin, as much as she denied/hated it, was one of Naruto's relatives, distant as she may be. Naruto had only been able to find her in the previous timeline because she followed Sasuke… but now that Naruto would be stopping Sasuke from leaving, he wouldn't be able to find her that way.

"We'll just raid Orochimaru's hideouts later."

"And the Sand?" Ichigo prodded further. Upon seeing Naruto's questioning look, he further elaborated, "As far as I know, no one as I knew dies during this period, that and I don't know the exact details."

Naruto hesitated.

**"Naruto, you'll need to save Shukaku's kid," Kurama inputted.**

Absentmindedly nodding, Naruto replied, "I'll fight Gaara. I don't know what they'll do without Orochimaru at the head, assuming I succeed in taking him down in the Forest, so I'll leave you to take care of that and co-ordinate with the Ji-ji."

Ichigo made a face of slight disgust. "You know I suck at formulating plans," he commented, causing Naruto to sigh in agreement.

"Man, I miss Shikamaru." A heavy silence permeated the air between them as thoughts and wishes for their fallen comrades ran through the two time-traveller's minds'.

They had lost _so _many people. Literally everyone. The sensei-s and older ninja had been the first to go, dying with the reasoning that it was no use if 'old' people outlived the war; the younger generation was their best chance at continuing humanity.

Then, as things became even more desperate, the horrors increased, and Naruto was reduced to sending out barely trained ninjas and everyone who could fight had to. It was a nightmare and disaster like no other horror the world could conjure. It was-

"Hey." Naruto looked up.

"They might not be the exact same people, but we can still bond with them, just differently this time. It might not be perfect," Ichigo shrugged, "but what can we do?"

"Right! We shou-"

At sound of the movement of air by the window, Naruto and Ichigo whipped around, instantly on guard, to find an ANBU perched on the windowsill.

"Hokage-sama wishes to see you as soon as possible," the ANBU relayed.

"But I wanted to go to Ichiraku Ramen!" Naruto cried.

In contrast, Ichigo gave a grunt of acknowledgement and then the three were off, a sobbing Naruto following closely behind.

ナルト—ブリーチ

Zangetsu's sealed form was placed carefully against a tree in Training Ground 33 as Ichigo did several warm-ups and stretches in preparation for the upcoming evaluation. The Hokage, and his examiner, would be arriving in a few minutes, so he had taken the liberty of getting ready.

The sword resting on the tree was basically an exact replica of his original Shikai, his new one being much more powerful, though rather difficult to wield.

Having finished all the stretches he could think of, Ichigo hoisted up Zangetsu once again and conducted a few katas. He was only on his third when the Hokage and two other people arrived in a swirl of leaves.

_:Ichigo, heads up:_ his Zanpakuto called to him.

Immediately stopping his practice, he turned towards them, taking in the features of the two people following the Hokage.

One was a person he knew well: Hatake Kakashi, who stood to the left of the Hokage holding out that awful perverted book he always seemed to read. Just the thought of it caused Ichigo to blush. He had been fortunate enough not to witness his death, but he could easily imagine the tired lines that had set into the copy-nin's face after the loss of more than a few comrades.

And the second person… Ichigo was sure he had seen the guy before, just he couldn't remember where. It was a middle-aged man with two scars running across his face in parallel diagonals. His hitai-ate had been extended to cover his whole head. If Ichigo wasn't mistaken, he worked for the T&I sector, but who was he again?

"Hokage-sama," Ichigo greeted with a bow, before looking questioningly at the two men, true to his part.

"Ichigo, here are your examiners: Hatake Kakashi and Morino Ibiki," the Hokage introduced. "I will merely be observing."

With a nod, the Hokage handed it over. "Ibiki."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," the interrogator immediately responded. "There will be four basic components to the test. The first three tests will assess your skills in each of the three aspects of the shinobi: ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu. The last component will be a free spar. Kakashi will act as a scribe for the first two components and will be your sparring partner for the final two. We will start with ninjutsu."

Ichigo nodded and put down Zangetsu with utmost caution onto the green grass. After taking a look at Kakashi to make sure he was ready to write, he turned back to Ichigo. "Name all the ninjutsu you know."

"Henge and Kage Bunshin," Ichigo answered immediately. The incredulity in Ibiki and Kakashi's eyes was almost visible. The Third just looked resigned, probably because he realised this was _Naruto's _friend.

"Let me get this straight: two Academy jutsu and one kinjutsu?" Kakashi asked.

"Yup. I couldn't get down kawarimi and the Bunshin no jutsu so I did Kage Bunshin instead," Ichigo confirmed. Ibiki got over his shock and immediately whispered into the Hokage's ear (though Ichigo could still hear him).

"Hokage-sama, I think he'll be lucky if he manages to become a genin," Ibiki commented, causing the Hokage to unsuccessfully stifle a chuckle. He waved away Ibiki's concerns with a hand.

"Just go through the whole assessment." Ibiki nodded and moved back towards Ichigo.

"Okay. Please perform the Henge to turn into Kakashi," he ordered.

With a firm nod, the spiky orange hair was gone, replaced with an even spikier head of white hair. It was a perfect copy down to every detail in his memory.

"Good. You may change back now." There was another cloud of white smoke and Ichigo was back.

"Please perform the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Ichigo narrowed his eyes. A number of clones had not been specified, leading him to believe that they wanted to see how much his default number was. Well, no point giving them that number, best to downplay his abilities.

**_:King, you suck at ninjutsu. I don't think you can downplay minimal skill: _**Ichigo grimaced.

'Shut it.'

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," Ichigo intoned, his fingers in a cross shape and three carbon copies of himself appeared on his left, all armed with Zangetsu. Kakashi's pen scribbled across the paper with a carrying scratch.

"You may release the jutsu." The clones were gone, and Ichigo, having predicted what would come next, performed a substitution with a tree log while Ibiki was writing.

A nod of acknowledgement told him he had done the right thing and then he was left waiting for the next instruction.

"Okay. We will now move onto the genjutsu portion. What genjutsu do you know?" Ibiki asked.

"None," came the quick fire reply. He could see that the disbelief was back. _'How is this kid even **dreaming **of becoming a Chuunin?' _was practically written on his face. Ichigo knew that most Chuunin knew at least one or two basic concealing genjutsu.

"Very well. I will proceed to conduct a genjutsu on you. Please attempt to break it," Ibiki instructed before placing his hands in a basic hand sign.

"Ninpou: Dekishi-numa (溺死沼) [Ninja Art: Drowning swamp]!" A breeze blew by the four standing in the training field and Ichigo resisted the urge to laugh as the swamp Ibiki was trying to show him flickered before his eyes.  
>"I'm sorry, Ibiki but I forgot to mention that genjutsu doesn't work on me." Now <em>this<em> received surprised looks. Ichigo quickly ran through his words, wondering what had been weird about them. Was it that he addressed Ibiki informally? As soon as the thought passed through his head, Ichigo dismissed it. Still, perhaps it'd be more prudent to be more formal. Hopefully it was for a good reason this time.

"How can it not work?" Kakashi inquired, causing Ichigo to scratch his head.

_'Well, I have two other occupants in my head who do not have chakra networks, hence they cannot be affected and so snap me out of it, but I can't very well say that, can I?', _Ichigo mused.

"I don't know. It just doesn't," he lied. Ibiki assumed a thoughtful pose for a quick moment.

"Kakashi, use your sharingan and observe his chakra network. Look for any disruptions in chakra," he commanded, to which Kakashi nodded and lifted his slanting hitai-ate, unveiling his red eye with the three black tomoe.

"Ninpou: Dekishi-numa!" Ibiki proclaimed. Again, Ichigo only saw a mere glimpse before his fellow companions abruptly kicked him out of the genjutsu.

"It doesn't work," Ichigo repeated. This time, Kakashi, who had been staring at him with a curious expression on his face, nodded to confirm so.

"There was only a minor disruption but it lasted for about 0.5 seconds," the Copy-nin stated.

"Hn," Ibiki grunted. "We will move onto the third portion: Taijutsu. You will spar against Kakashi with only taijutsu. Move to your positions." As Kakashi came forward, Ichigo picked up his sword and moved it to rest against the tree bark. It looked like he had failed the ninjutsu portion and the genjutsu part he had only passed by default of the genjutsu 'surrendering'. He'd have to go all out in the Taijutsu.

Coming back to the center of the field, he went into his starting stance, resulting in Kakashi to do the same.

"Begin!"

Contrary to popular belief, taijutsu battles lasted for very short periods of time, unless you were Rock Lee or Gai, of course. It would last for a few moments, five minutes at most before one ninja overwhelmed the other. In the unlikely circumstance that the two shinobi were equally matched, the battle would still have broken apart and would quickly evolve into a battle of other aspects of shinobi training. Even the Green Beast Duo of Konoha nearly never fought actual long battles where _both_ sides used only pure taijutsu. Even so, the battle between Kakashi and Ichigo was extremely short in comparison.

It started with Kakashi making the first move. Having had everyone who had fought against him make the first move, it prevented Ichigo from developing the habit of doing so himself. The copy-ninja came in with kick that Ichigo easily blocked. To an outsider, it would look like Kakashi was going at his fastest, but having fought against the man before (admittedly in the future), Ichigo knew he could go faster.

Ichigo pushed off the offending limb and ducked to the side as the white-haired pervert took another jab at him. He retaliated with a punch, one he knew would be punishing in strength. Although Kakashi blocked the punch with one hand, he could tell that the bones had almost cracked. Good thing he wasn't using his full strength. He could almost see his opponent's jaw slacken in shock at the unexpected power of the wannabe Chuunin.

Trying to buy time to recover, Kakashi leaped a few bounds backwards, but Ichigo was onto him again with a leap of shunpo. This time, he attempted a hit with a roundhouse kick, and again Kakashi blocked it, though this time with 2 hands, having learnt his lesson last time. Ichigo could tell by the slight wince of Kakashi's only eye, that he had effectively put both of Kakashi's arms out of action. They would not be able to land any effective blows, and it would be painful to block with them. So, in retaliation, the white-haired ninja picked up the tempo, going from the speed of a Chuunin, to his own as a Jounin.

Now it was getting fun. Ichigo picked up his own pace, outpacing Kakashi effortlessly. With a few more blows on his part, all successfully blocked, it was game, set and match. Kakashi may have been able to see all his wallops in advance but he did not have the speed to avoid it.

He was caught off-balance and flopped onto the grass, panting hard while Ichigo flew in with a hand chop that paused barely an inch from his neck, looking as if it had been a simple walk in the park. And it was, when compared to his spars with Yoruichi.

"Yield?" Ichigo asked, to which Kakashi tiredly nodded.

"Yield," he conceded.

Kakashi limped off the field, wincing, while Ichigo was left with nary a scratch. Taking a look at his observers, he smirked at Ibiki's slack jaw and the Third's smile of approval.

"I don't think Ka-, Hatake-san's in any condition to continue, Morino-san," Ichigo commented needlessly. Ibiki rapidly attempted to school his astounded expression.

"I-In that case, I will now conclude this assessment," Ibiki started. "Are there any other skills you have?"

Ichigo felt his eyebrows come together in a frown. He supposed he could show his Hollow and Quincy powers. He would definitely need to display his use of Zangetsu; it was integral to his style… and presenting his Hollow and Quincy powers would prevent later panic over them.

"Ah yes, Morino-san. I am a kenjutsu specialist and I have a few other special techniques," said Ichigo, causing Ibiki's eyebrow (or at least what little he could see of it) to rise up.

"Oh? I do not have anyone to spar with you for proof of you kenjutsu prowess, so I will have to take your word for it. Could you please display your other skills?"

With a nod, Ichigo went over to retrieve Zangetsu.

"Hokage-san, would you miss this field very much?" Ichigo asked. The Hokage raised an eyebrow.

"The damages would come from your own pocket, Ichigo." Ichigo shrugged.

"I'll try to limit the damage to a tree, then." Ichigo eyed a tree speculatively.

_'Ready, Zangetsu?'_

_:Yes, Ichigo:_

"Getsuga… Tenshou!" Ichigo exclaimed, swinging his butcher knife of a sealed sword towards one tree. A black wave of energy swirled from the knife, and where it was supposed to cut down one, demolished and utterly destroyed three trees. He turned back to scratch the back of his head, his face flushing in embarrassment.

"Oops. I just meant to hit one." Ibiki looked like he had reached his 'shock limit' and had now receded to a monotone expression, while the Hokage merely observed appraisingly.

"I will not even attempt to ask how you can do that," Ibiki said.

"I also have Hollow powers, which basically involve making my attacks with kenjutsu stronger as well as increased speed and instant regeneration, and Quincy powers, which involve a bow and Blut Arterie and Blut Vein. Blut Arterie increases the attack strength of my taijutsu and Blut Vein increases my defense strength, making my skin almost impermeable. I suppose that could be classified as taijutsu." Ibiki shook his head, and Kakashi all but collapsed onto the ground.

"And as for Kido…?" Ichigo trailed off having seen the Third discretely shake his head. "That's it, I mean."

"It will take more time than we have assigned to this test to showcase all your skills. I will now conclude this assessment," Ibiki looked to the Hokage for approval.

"Okay. Civilian Kurosaki Ichigo, your evaluation to be promoted to Chuunin results in a fail. Although you have strengths in other areas, you lack the formal instruction of the shinobi skills. Your taijutsu is exceptionally high above standard but you are severely lacking in ninjutsu, whereas your genjutsu is acceptable. Based on your skill set, I cannot promote you. However, I recommend that you be assigned to a genin team and take the Chuunin exam at the closest time. The Chuunin examinations will allow promotion based on other factors as well, which will allow you to pass. You are hereby promoted to genin, should you choose to take it." Ibiki paused for a moment. "That will be all. Hokage-sama?"

The Hokage inclined his head. "Thank you Ibiki, Kakashi. You are dismissed. Kakashi, you may want to go for a check up at the hospital." The two gave a bow, before disappearing with a shunshin, though Kakashi left with an unreadable glance directed at Ichigo.

"Well, Hokage-san? What's the plan now?" Ichigo asked.

"We will assign you as an addition to Team 7, after they have passed the test of course. You will enter with a team of Chuunin, which will guarantee you a way past the first exam and will allow you to help Naruto during the second. Whether you do the third part is up to you, though of course, with your skill set, it would make the village look very good," Hiruzen said with a sly look in his eye.

"Very well, Hokage-san," Ichigo replied with a small chuckle. How typical of a village leader to want to showcase power. "How are the plans with Danzo going?"

"Ibiki is investigating into that. There have been a few leads, and now the small amount of proof we've got is pointing towards Danzo committing treason. We will need to get quite a lot of hard evidence and present it in one blow that will not allow Danzo to get back up. By the way, I have informed Ibiki, and will inform Kakashi of your status as a time traveller," Hiruzen said, causing a slight wave of panic to coarse through Ichigo.

"What?! Naruto doesn't want anyone to know about that. He wants to rebuild his bonds with the people he knew _without _seeming to know everything about them like a creep, and honestly, I understand him," Ichigo exclaimed, his hands almost dropping the sword held in them. Seeing a raised eyebrow from the Hokage, he realised it was quite a large step from the previous display of decorum. Ah well, he was never that good at it anyway.

"Sorry, Hokage-san. Manners aren't my strong suit," he apologized, before sheathing his sword across his back, the white cloth whipping around Zangetsu. "I've only had some lessons in them, and they stopped about a year ago."

Hiruzen inclined his head.

"Duly noted. And I only told them about you, not Naruto, but I didn't mention the fact that you are a Soul Reaper. I'm sorry if you did want to rebuild your relationships, but I supposed that there might be a way to return you back to your world. Have you ever tried?" he asked.

"No… There never was enough time. And Naruto only recently picked up Fuuinjutsu… and well, no one else was good enough," Ichigo explained. A short look of confusion crossed the Third's face.

"Did you not meet Jiraiya?" Hiruzen questioned. Ichigo shook his head, sending his orange locks to swing around the sides of his face.

"No, Hokage-san. He had died a while before I arrived."

"Ah." Deep sorrow emboldened the ageing lines on Hiruzen's old skin. "It saddens me to hear that."

"Don't worry about it. He's one of the people Naruto is trying his hardest to save," Ichigo said softly. The emotion was wiped from the Third like a whiteboard being cleaned and it was back to business mode with him.

"Ah yes, there's another matter to be discussed. I've talked it over with Shikaku, my head tactician and we've adjusted your cover story. Being a wandering swordsman means that you had to have training from somewhere, likely the Land of Iron. While they are a neutral country, they might raise a fuss and that could create an international incident. To Naruto's team and to any council members, you will be a new foreigner who was raised in a travelling ninja family, who you recently lost," Hiruzen explained.

Ichigo nodded, "It's a good idea." There were a few moments of silence that passed before the aging Hokage finally sighed.

"I have a lot of work to do. I must be going. I will contact you when it's time to join Kakashi's team," Hiruzen excused himself. As Ichigo was about to leave, Hiruzen pressed something into his hands. "Take care of him."

"Ah."

The Hokage gave a nod of parting before disappearing with a shunshin, leaving Ichigo staring at the glistening metal of Konohagakure's hitai-ate.

ナルト—ブリーチ

Ichigo strode around town, observing the village life in the growing darkness. People were bustling about, some trying to get home before dinner while others were roaming mindlessly. Others like him.

He could feel the warm breeze tickle his cheek as his long legs covered large stretches of distance before finally setting his feet back onto the ground with a light thump. A sparkle of glitter caught his eye, and he made his way closer towards the dark shop.

It was a toy store, advertising toys for young children and toddlers through a clear glass pane. Analysing the display, Ichigo could see there were toys of every sort: cars for boys, dolls for girls and a plushy rabbit on sale as advertised by a sign glued to the glass pane.

Rabbit._ Rukia._

Goodness, how he missed Rukia. There wasn't a single day he hadn't thought of the people he'd left behind at home. All those times, he'd been fighting for hours on end, he would reminisce just how much easier fighting through hordes of reanimated corpses would be with Rukia or Renji watching his back.

While he didn't miss those horrid lessons the Head Captain gave and Kenpachi's constant demands for a fight, he did miss learning medical kido with Isane or kido with Urahara or someone else.

When he finally sat down for a meal, Ichigo would yearn for Yuzu's homemade curry. And when someone behaved like a moron, subsequently causing someone else to bop them over the head, he'd feel a surge of mourning over how Karin had used to do that a good many of times. And then, when he'd met Naruto's Karin, he had almost broke down at the few similarities that they shared.

So lost in his tear-jerking thoughts was he, that the sounds of footsteps coming to a stop went unnoticed by his typically sharp ears.

"Maa, that's quite a bleak expression you have there, Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo looked up at the glass and caught the reflection of Kakashi with his hands in his pockets, his posture lax. Rearranging his features into his typical scowl, he replied, "Well, I suppose bleak thoughts deserve such an expression, ne Hatake-san?"

Kakashi tilted his head up to gaze at the darkening sky. "You have a point there." A respectful silence ensued, before it was broken by Kakashi's lazy voice. "Care to take a walk with me, Kurosaki-san?" he asked, a curious eye observing Ichigo's scowl.

"That's what I was doing before. And call me Ichigo; Kurosaki just sounds weird." The two set off from the desolate store, falling into step.

"Ichigo then. In that case, call me Kakashi. I could tell you were about to earlier," Kakashi commented as he took out that little orange book that was forever on his person.

Letting out a snort, he replied, "I'm slipping up. I've never been one for formalities anyway, even with that old man trying to beat it into me."

"On the contrary, your performance was very good for someone supposedly on genin level. However, your Henge wasn't exactly me," said Kakashi, flicking over to the next page.

Upon seeing Ichigo's questioning look, he continued, "Your version looked like a version of me some 4 years older. I'm guessing you knew me where you came from?" Ichigo noted the way Kakashi didn't say the words 'the future', surmising it was probably a ranked secret right about now.

"Not very well. I was always closer to Naruto and the rest of the team."  
>"Naruto? Uzumaki Naruto?" Ichigo nodded.<p>

"Ah. I forgot you haven't received your genin team yet." Kakashi just sighed.

"Well, it's not likely they'll pass," Kakashi mused as they turned a corner onto a street lined with food stalls.

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch," Ichigo quoted. "Maybe they'll surprise you."

"Maybe," Kakashi allowed. "Could you tell me whom my genin team will consist of?" he asked, tearing his eye away from the line he was reading to consider Ichigo curiously.

After contemplating it for a moment, he decided it wouldn't hurt. "Your genin team will compose of Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, assuming that no major changes have occurred by my being here," Ichigo disclosed, to which Kakashi nodded.

"That makes sense. And you're saying I'll pass them?" Ichigo scowled.

"I didn't say that."

"Not directly, but you practically confirmed it," Kakashi pointed out.

"Perhaps. This event cannot change, so please do what you would if you hadn't known anything about it," Ichigo explained. Kakashi stared at him for a moment, looking for something, but for the life of him, Ichigo didn't know what.

"Very well, Ichigo." They strolled on for a while, Ichigo taking in the sights and sounds of nightlife in Konoha.

Little children were bouncing along the streets, a bundle of hyperactive energy wanting everything yet nothing. Smiling adults, ready for a night of fun and indulgence perhaps, followed them. Close to a stall, a familiar head of blonde hair caught Ichigo's sight.

Oh no. They hadn't discussed this yet! Ichigo fought to keep the panic off his face, when his doom was inexplicably confirmed.

The son of the Fourth turned to his direction, and after a quick glance at Kakashi, plastered a wide grin onto his face.

"Ichi-nii!" Naruto yelled as he raced towards Ichigo, every part the little kid he pretended to be as he ignoring the wince that had come from the familiar name. Here we go.

"Hey, Naruto," Ichigo greeted, valiantly trying to treat Naruto like he would his sisters. Not easy when your friend who was mostly sane was acting like a kid. Naruto scooted to a stop in a few steps in front of Ichigo almost vibrating in place with boundless energy. "How was your day?" Naruto grimaced.

"It was boring. All we're doing is revision for that stupid graduation exam next week. But I'm going to be Hokage, even if I don't pass, so it doesn't matter," Naruto declared, puffing his chest out. Ichigo chuckled at Naruto's attitude.

"Ne, Ichi-nii. Who's that guy next to you?" Naruto demanded in a childish manner. Ichigo's vision flickered to Kakashi for a moment to find that the masked man had a distinctly amused expression on his face.

"Ah, this is Hatake Kakashi. He's a Jounin. Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto," Ichigo introduced as Kakashi raised a hand in greeting.

"Nice to meet you, Naruto-kun." His one visible eye turned into an upside down 'U'. Immediately, Naruto started jumping on the spot in a manner truly deserving of his title: 'The Number 1 Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja'. Well… not ninja yet.

"Ne, ne, ne. Kakashi-san. You're a Jounin?" Naruto inquired, causing Kakashi to give a nod. "So that means you know lots of cool jutsu, ne?" Another nod.

"Ohh! Can you teach me?" Naruto squealed. Ichigo snickered at Naruto's childish behavior and the weariness that seemed to radiate from the copy-ninja's demeanour. When Kakashi didn't answer for a while, Naruto pestered, "Please, please, please, please, _please_?"

Kakashi sighed. "We'll see. Now, isn't it bedtime for little children?" Kakashi pushed, eliciting a pout from the young (or not) boy.

"I'm not little! Or a child! I'm going to graduate from the Academy next week, and then I'm going to become Hokage!" Naruto boasted. Ichigo sweat-dropped. Wow, the kid could win an Oscar for his acting.

"Naruto, Kakashi is right." When Naruto scowled in a manner not unlike Ichigo's own, Ichigo absentmindedly wondered whether he was a bad influence. "Come on, let's get you home."

Turning back to Kakashi, he said, "Well, I'll see you around." The White Fang's pervert of a son already had his head back inside his _Icha Icha_ book.

"Ja."

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><p><span>Translations<span>

_Maa - _I have no idea what it means; Kakashi just says it often

_Ja_ - Literally means 'Well...' but often used as a shortened form of 'Ja ne' which means 'See you'.

**Please leave a review! Constructive criticism, pointing out of errors, plot line remarks, just not 'This is the worst story ever written' with no justification. Feel free to say that, but like I mentioned - _with_ justification.**


	3. Chapter 3: Not On The Test

**Yeah, I know. I should've updated earlier. This was done when the first chapter was done, but since the next chapter's not done yet [or even half done] I didn't want to post this... but then I realised how much ****_I_**** hated people not updating and the fact that I was doing the same thing... yeah, it didn't sit well with me. This chapter... I'm not too happy with how this one came out (another reason why I need a beta-reader, hint-hint), but I'm not going to troll anyone. It's also waaaay too short.**

**Disclaimer: I own neither Bleach nor Naruto. They belong to Tite Kubo and Masashi Kimimoto respectively. Believe me, if I were the one drawing it, it'd look like a bunch of Chappies (that's it in plural form, right?).**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>: Not on The Test

Naruto stood at the edge of a training field, glaring at the brown bark he was meant to be practicing the tree walking exercise whereas Ichigo sat a few meters away, his legs folded and his body relaxed, seemingly in a meditating pose.

Naruto knew he could do the exercise easily, but that was wherein the problem lay. At this age, he hadn't been known for being pro-active and studying ahead, so he would only raise the suspicion that something was not all that right. Hence, he was practicing exactly how not to do it.

The blonde sighed and sank onto the ground, turning his head to glare at the seemingly sleeping teen seated on the fresh green grass, the faint wind seeming to be ruffling his hair in that heroic manner that Naruto had always hoped for himself.

"Oi!" Naruto yelled in irritation, grasping at the dry dirt to chuck some at Ichigo. The dirt immediately crumbled in the air, bits of it landing in Ichigo's hair and body. In response, the scowling boy cracked open an eyelid.

"What do you want?" Ichigo grunted, both eyes shut again.

"You should be doing this too, you know! I don't want to suffer alone while you get to sleep!" Naruto exclaimed. There was no reply from the other boy for a few moments before he got up, his shihakusho swaying as he made his way over to the trees that Naruto was positioned in front of, careful to step over his sword laying at rest on the ground.

"If you wanted to not suffer alone, you could've made some Shadow Clones. And I was in the middle of some negotiations with my Hollow… we've almost come to an agreement," he said, facing the tree as he walked straight up and down with obvious control. "There done it. You want some tips?" Ichigo asked with a smirk.

Naruto scowled at Ichigo's ease; at least he had no social barriers to conform to. He had live up (or down) to everyone's expectations, and the fact that he could climb trees with pure chakra control had to be kept secret, hence the training to 'not do it'.

"If I'd made some Shadow Clones, I'd still be suffering with myself," Naruto grumbled while Ichigo's smirk only grew wider. "I know that you don't have anyone to spar against, but you can borrow some scrolls from the library." The Substitute Shinigami's eyebrow shot up in surprise.

"There's a library?" Ichigo asked incredulously. Naruto shrugged.

"Sure there is. I've only been there once or twice to fetch Sai, but yeah. I heard that anyone can borrow a scroll, but some sections are limited to shinobi," he explained. Ichigo adopted a contemplative expression.

"Maybe I can start on some elemental manipulation… That would be cool if I could ever go back," he commented, observing as Naruto managed to go up the tree while badly faking difficulty. "No one's going to buy that, by the way."

"Whatever. Elemental affinities are hereditary-"

"Wait a moment," Ichigo cut off. "Try going up the tree while distracted." Naruto raised an eyebrow. That wasn't going to help; he had to fight while glued to a surface.

"Anyway, elemental affinities are hereditary, Kakashi-sensei said. We could buy chakra paper but that's really expensive so you could possibly guess yours if you knew your parents, but maybe you could- UFF!" Naruto let out as the bark cracked and broke under his feet. How?  
>Ichigo nodded, as if Naruto had just proved a theory. "Fighting while doing this exercise has no problem with you, but recalling information requires more of your mind than fighting, so it makes it more difficult for you to complete the exercise," Ichigo hypothesized. The young boy dressed in orange nodded along, before suddenly freezing as the words sunk in properly.<p>

"Wait… are you saying I'm dumb?!" he screeched, causing Ichigo to crack a small grin.

"Yup. Dumb as a doorknob. The exercise just proved it," Ichigo pointed out. As much as Naruto hated it, this had now become a viable method of faking his incompetency in the exercise.

"Wait, just let me try one more time." Naruto gave a running start and proceeded to try and recall information.

Okay, shinobi use kunai and shuriken the most often while some specialize in other weaponry such as fuuma shuriken or swords. The Third Hokage is known as "The Professor" because he's smart. Pi is 3.14159265358979323… what was the next digit again?

Almost as if made by the thoughts, the bark cracked underneath Naruto's right foot, and Naruto leaped off the tree, pumping a fist to the air.

"Yatta! I did it, 'ttebayo!" Naruto explained, a wide smile stretching on his face. Next to him, he heard a sharp slap.

"I can't believe that method actually worked," Ichigo deadpanned.

Shifting his body to face Ichigo, Naruto asked, "So, do you have an idea about your elemental affinity?"

"Goat face's Zanpakuto was a fire type… and I don't know my mum's, so I guess I'll start with fire," Ichigo said, a wistful look on his face.

"It's a good one to have. You're in the Fire Nation! Most people have a fire affinity here," Naruto explained. "Well, I'm done. I'm going to go now." He'd already done some strength, stamina and taijutsu training before.

"I'll come with," Ichigo said, picking up Zangetsu and sheathing the large sword across his back.

"I didn't have any Ichiraku the other day, so I'm going to go there now," Naruto proclaimed, crossing his arms behind his head with a wide grin on his face. Behind him, Ichigo blanched, his feet stopping in the middle of their great strides.

"On second thought, I'll go home. See ya." With a blur of shunpo, Ichigo's figure vanished just as Naruto turned back around. Noticing the absence of the sword-wielding teen, Naruto glared at the spot that was recently occupied by the air.

"Great. Now I don't have anyone to pin the bill on!"

ナルト—ブリーチ

"Okay, Naruto, please do the Bunshin no Jutsu."

Iruka-sensei and Mizuki sat opposite Naruto, Iruka with a pen in hand, both of them observing quietly.

'Okay, okay. Just fail. I can't do it anyway,' Naruto mentally encouraged himself.

He settled into position, knees bent and hands placed in a hand seal.

'Just need to let my chakra build up like crazy.'

He could feel the rising warmth of his chakra, swirling within and around him.

'Now!'

Snapping open his eyes, he cried out, "Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Plumes of smoke filled the room, and when it cleared, 10 proper Bunshins appeared next to Naruto.

"EH?!" Naruto squeaked. "It actually worked?!" What was going on? He had done everything correctly, and by that, wrongly of course. Crazy build up of chakra, check. Hand sign, check. Just what was going on?!

**"****Kid, you've got a smaller amount of chakra here than in your older body. You still have the same amount of spiritual energy but not the same amount of physical energy. Chakra control is a purely mental process, so that was sustained. Better chakra control over a smaller amount of chakra means you can actually do it, albeit not small numbers of bunshin," **Kurama explained.

While Naruto was ecstatic about being able to do jutsu that were previously out of his reach, it meant that… he might actually pass. He turned to the examiner's table and noted Iruka's look of astonishment and pride in contrast to the fleeting glance of something dangerous that dashed across Mizuki's face.

Getting back into character, he let a wide grin spread across his face and folded his hands behind his head. "I did it! I told you so!" Naruto boasted.

Iruka shook his head to clear some of the shock. "Well done Naruto, I think you might just get the pass mark. If I add up your marks for this and your written…" Iruka, trailed off. "One mark above the pass mark. You may be ranked last but congratulations Naruto! You are officially a genin of Konoha!" Iruka commended with a beaming smile, handing the blonde a hitai-ate.

Mizuki, on the other hand, looked positively murderous and was utterly failing to school his expression into something more typical.

Meanwhile, Naruto just stared at the shiny headband with a slightly distressed look on his face.

"Naruto, are you alright?" Iruka asked. Naruto nodded slowly.

**"****Kid, I think you just failed at failing," **the Kyuubi commented with a snicker.

Indeed he had.

ナルト—ブリーチ

The Academy day was over and young children were filing out, some greeting their parents and recounting their school day whereas others hurried home, intent on finishing their work. In contrast, one Uzumaki Naruto sat on a swing, half-hidden under the shadows of the leaves that gave Konohagakure its name.

Legs swinging on either side kicking at the green grass, he sat there contemplating, contemplating what would happen now. Mizuki needed to get that scroll, that much he knew for sure. But how would the man go about doing so? Would he steal it himself? Or would he get another unsuspecting genin to go and grab it?

"Psst," someone hissed.

Naruto whipped his head around almost in a panic to find that it was Mizuki standing behind him, as if summoned by his very thoughts. The white-haired man stood there with a grin, one that Naruto identified as fake.

"Hey Naruto, I saw how you were upset before," Mizuki commented as he leaned back on a nearby tree trunk. Upset? Oh, he's referring to the tiny panic attack earlier.

"Oh. Yeah. That." '_Come on. Excuse, come on!'_ he thought desperately.

"Yeah, I'm just a bit sad that I'm not Rookie of the Year," Naruto 'confessed', doing his best to seem downcast.

"I see." Mizuki crossed his arms. "Did you know that there's another way to become Rookie of the Year? Other than being ranked first, of course." Naruto almost jumped out of the swing in eagerness.

"Really? Really?" he cried, straightening in excitement. This was his chance! He hadn't lost it after all!

"Yes," Mizuki confirmed with a firm nod. "You just need to get this scroll and learn a jutsu from it." The white-haired man leaned closer to Naruto and whispered the location in his ear, not that he actually needed to know.

As the teacher leaned away, Naruto felt a keen grin spread onto his face.

"Got it, Mizuki-sensei! I'll show you for sure!" Naruto yelled as he sped away to get ready his 'preparations'.

Taking care to check that no one was following him, Naruto sprinted back home, intent on finding Ichigo. Fortunately, Ichigo was just unlocking his own door, when the orange-haired teen looked up as he had heard Naruto's feet pounding on the pavement.

"ICHIGOOOO!" Naruto shouted as he screeched to a stop just in front of Ichigo's pained and bewildered face.

"Ichigo?" he asked, concerned. With a shake of his head, Ichigo seemed to focus on his orange frame, blinking several times.

"Nothing. What is it? I have a feeling I won't be able to go inside for a while," Ichigo said, leaning back on his door. Naruto vigorously nodded his head.

"I'll be out late today. Can you tell Ji-ji that I might be sneaking in for a while?" Naruto questioned. They had settled on this vague code to signify what would be going on for any passerby's ears.

"I'll get on it," Ichigo confirmed before disappearing in a flash of shunpo.

Alright, now it was go time.

ナルト—ブリーチ

Naruto lay down in the middle of the forest, completely bored. The sun had long since set and neither Mizuki nor Iruka had found him yet. The scroll he had demurely sitting next to him was a blank scroll, no matter how much it looked like the actual Scroll of Seals.

Man, what was taking so long? They should have come by now. Hmm… last time he'd been panting, after practice the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu so much. Maybe he should act like that again.

Hence, Naruto sat up, and began forcing himself to pant. _'I should be getting an award for all this acting,'_ he mused inwardly, unknowingly echoing one of Ichigo's previous thoughts.

Surprisingly, after barely a minute of acting, he heard footsteps approaching. Showtime. He grinned.

"Hey, Naruto," Iruka said, his shoulders shaking with tamed fury. Naruto chuckled, scratching the nape of his neck; he'd heard that it showed nervousness. Immediately, he blanched. Gah! He was starting to sound like Sai!

"Oh man, I got caught. I only learned one technique," Naruto lied through his teeth. "Hey, I'm going to show you a great technique, so let me become Rookie of The Year if I do it! If I learn a technique from the scroll, I become the best-ranked, right?" Ignoring the widening of Iruka's eyes, Naruto smiled as brightly as the sun, feigning complete obliviousness.

"Who said that?" Iruka demanded.

"Mizuki-sensei, believe it!" Naruto replied, jumping about happily, a disguised form of the anxiety he was feeling. What if something didn't go as planned? "He told me about this place and this scroll."

In the space of a split second, a dozen kunai rushed out of the foliage of the trees, aimed at the pair standing in the forest clearing. Naruto was already preparing to move aside when Iruka pushed him out of the way with a tap on the chest, sending Naruto sprawling to the ground with a cry as the Chuunin took the brunt of the sharp weapons, drawing blood.

_'__Iruka-sensei!'_ Naruto thought desperately.

**"****Cool it kid, don't blow your cover," **came Kurama's comforting voice, to which Naruto nodded.

"So you found this place," Mizuki drawled from his crouch on a tree branch, two large shuriken burdening his back.

"I see how it is," Iruka coughed, wincing as he twitched open an eye from his place frozen by the shed.

"Naruto, hand over the scroll," Mizuki ordered, stretching out a hand.

"Sure!" Naruto replied, tossing the scroll to the traitor.

As Mizuki effortlessly caught the scroll, Iruka objected, "No, Naruto! He mustn't get the scroll!" As much as Naruto wanted to reassure Iruka, he had to stay silent, no matter how much it killed him.

Mizuki cackled a wild and evil laugh and gloated, "Nothing can stop me from power now!"

"No!" Iruka exclaimed, making to stop Mizuki from opening to scroll despite the pain when he found Naruto standing next to him, a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Iruka-sensei," he whispered when Mizuki opened the scroll.

"Eh?" Mizuki asked. "It's blank!"

"It's blank for the first meter or so, Mizuki-sensei. Just keep going," Naruto encouraged. Mizuki, thinking himself so close to his conquest of power, didn't pause to think on what Naruto just said, simply continuing to open the scroll. Imagine his confusion when he came across a piled stack of burning explosive tags.

"What-?"

BOOM! A colossal explosion rocked the tree, Mizuki just barely managing to jump to the ground before being caught up in it. Still, he only escaped with his left sleeve singed and the parts of his arm that could be seen were severely burned.

"Told you not to worry, Iruka-sensei," Naruto repeated with a bright grin.

"Stupid brat!" Mizuki muttered angrily. "Did you know that a rule was created after an incident twelve years ago?"

With a short sigh, Naruto affected a look of bafflement. "A rule?"

"It's a rule that only you, Naruto, cannot find out about," Mizuki sneered.

"Only me? What's that rule?" he asked frantically.

"Stop, Mizuki!" Iruka bellowed, a look of desperation on his face.

With an evil smirk on his face, Mizuki went on, "It's a rule not to say that Naruto is a monster fox. In other words, you are the nine-tailed fox who killed Iruka's parents and destroyed our village!"

"Stop!" Iruka pleaded, his anguish increasing with every word that Mizuki spouted.

"N-no way! I-I'm the f-fox?!" Naruto stuttered.

"That's right, Naruto. So that's why you deserve to die!" Mizuki said with finality, swerving to attack Naruto with a kunai in his last good hand. Without both hands, he wouldn't be able to mobilize that large shuriken that had hurt Iruka so badly before.

With a pleased smile, Naruto smirked. Clang! Mizuki's kunai was intercepted by the own in Naruto's fingers. "Yeah, right, Mizuki. I figured it out a long time ago… but that doesn't mean I'm that fur ball," Naruto declared, using his free hand to aim a punch Mizuki in the stomach.

Jumping back to gain distance, Mizuki asked, "How?"

Naruto cocked his head. "Honestly, how dumb do you think I am?" he inquired. Upon seeing the sheepish looks on both Mizuki and Iruka's faces, he nearly face palmed. _'Pretty dumb, I guess,' _he allowed, valiantly trying to ignore Kurama's snicker in the background.

"It wasn't hard to figure out. The Kyuubi-," Naruto winced at Kurama's hiss of anger at being referred to in such a way, and quickly sent a word of apology, "-attacked Konoha on the 10th of October 12 years ago. I was born on the exact same day. Also, a seal appears on my stomach whenever I use any chakra. I don't have to be a genius to figure it out," he drawled.

"But that doesn't make me him. I admit that I freaked out a little when I first figured it out, but then I remembered something." He put up a finger. "Just because a kunai is sealed into a piece of paper, doesn't make the piece of paper a kunai. I'm _not_ the fur ball, but I understand if people don't see it the same way. And I guess it's alright that people hate me for it."

Naruto could feel both their eyes on him when Mizuki started cackling –again. What was with all the villains and laughing weirdly? First Orochimaru, and now this guy. Or was it the other way round?

"It doesn't make a difference; I'll still kill you!" As Mizuki started rushing towards Naruto, he was intercepted again, though this time by four masked ANBU.

"Kotetsu Mizuki, you are hereby under arrest for attempted theft, and willful violation of the law," one of them said. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Just in time.

"But how?" Mizuki questioned. He shook his head. Seriously, did everything have to be explained?

"You didn't seriously think I'd fall for your deception?" Naruto dared. He face faulted when the same sheepish looks appeared on everyone's faces. Well, considering that he _did_ fall for it the first time, their beliefs weren't unfounded.

Another sigh. "I told the Hokage and he helped me set up that fake scroll that I gave you before. You know, the one that exploded in your face? Yeah, I was supposed to lure you here and then the ANBU would capture you. Oh, and he taught me the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu because I 'wasn't in a genin team so I couldn't be paid yet.' Mission complete!" Naruto explained, clapping his hands together.

Mizuki, seething and gritting his teeth in unbridled fury, was manhandled and hauled off amid his cries of objection, causing Naruto to finally relax all his tense muscles and drop to the floor, next to Iruka who was sliding down from his position leaning on the shed with a look of extreme shock on his face.

The unveilings of the last few minutes were taking their toll on Iruka's physical and mental state, a fact that Naruto easily observed.

"Whoa, there. Iruka-sensei, we should get you to the hospital," Naruto urged, uneasy at the sight of his teacher sitting there, with blood staining his blue shirt and green flak jacket. In response, Iruka slowly shook his head and gave a reassuring smile.

"I'll go there later, just… how long have you known?" Iruka inquired.

Naruto vaguely replied, "A while." A short pause hung in the air before Naruto went on, "I'm sorry about your parents." Although it had happened some 12 years prior, or 19 years, in Naruto's case, he could still express some regret, not that the Kyuubi did it, but that Kurama, controlled by Obito, was forced to do it.

Iruka waved Naruto's apology away. "It was twelve years ago… I'm mostly over it. Although, I'm quite surprised that you figured out what Mizuki was doing."

Naruto shrugged. "Ji-ji mentioned it once or twice, but never when he was talking about the Academy, so… you know." The moment the last word left the Uzumaki's lips, the teacher next to him promptly smacked him on the head, leaving Naruto rubbing the rising bump forlornly.

"Fool! Don't refer to Hokage-sama so casually!" Iruka scolded, raising a cheeky grin out of Naruto before settling down into a nostalgic expression. "You know, when I was your age, I was a lot like you." Even though Naruto already knew all this, he still hung onto every word.

"Really?" Naruto asked, causing Iruka to chuckle.

"Really," Iruka confirmed with a nod of the head. "I was the class clown, doing anything to attract attention, much like what you've been doing. And while I can't say that you'd make Rookie of the Year, even though that performance would surely make you so, I have a feeling that with your new-found intelligence you understand that it's just a rank." Naruto nodded vigorously, glad that he still had the same relationship with Iruka that he did previously.

"Now," Iruka said, standing up cautiously. "I think it's time I get to the hospital. Go home and get some rest, okay Naruto?"

After seeing Naruto's tilting of head in agreement, he hobbled off, leaving Naruto to do the same.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Please leave a review. You know, how it always shows that message how authors appreciate the support? Well, believe me, I mean it.<strong>


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